I wanted to wait for the CCTV footage of this atrocity happening to post with this but I cannot allow the prospect of that footage never surfacing to keep me from sharing this story:

On April 24-25 between the hours of 10:30PM and 7:00AM, someone (who remains at large) broke into my Mid City Los Angeles apartment through a vacant bedroom window that is accessible from an alleyway, while I was sound asleep, and stole my professional grade cameras along with lenses and various other pieces of equipment (canon 5d mark 4, Mamiya RZ67).

In short: My goal is to replace my camera gear so that I can continue to develop my practice as an artist and a photojournalist while serving in the education space. Additionally, replacing my camera gear will help me continue my professional development as an arts and science teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District. My long-term hope is to provide access to equipment and coursework for budding and novice photographers exploring this medium as a potential career choice.

Aside from the profound trauma of discovering someone came and went from my home while I was sleeping, completely undetected, that will take an indefinite amount of prayer, therapy and meditation to heal, the incident occurred following my being selected to participate in the first Black Image Center Residency (my first residency) at the height of my process in discovering my calling as an artist in the education space. A deeply symbolic and affirming moment for me as an artist who has struggled to identify my purpose within the space. I cannot begin to describe the anger, confusion, guilt, and pain I’ve dealt with over the past week but I am still here.

Many people, at several different degrees of proximity to me, aren’t fully aware of my work in education or my layered experience so I’ll take this opportunity to bring you up to speed: For the past two years I’ve been serving my original community: the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw district area as a program coordinator within the School Climate Advocacy role which is commissioned under the department of culture, climate and safety with LAUSD. Within my role, I have the distinct responsibility of facilitating programming to address the social-emotional wellness and needs of our most vulnerable student populations. This naturally is a very complex and trying opportunity that I’ve been carrying with as much dignity as possible, but I would be lying if I said it was a cakewalk of any form. Among a few other programs I'm responsible for, I host a daily after-school study hall for students to have the opportunity to catch up on missing assignments, get assistance with their work and in developing academic goals, or simply just check in, and I’ve had the unyielding support of several different nonprofit organizations and alumni associations to lean on in holding this space for our students. On Saturdays, I help facilitate a photography workshop for a local nonprofit organization where we show students of all ages how to use analog cameras, the process of developing negatives by hand, and then taking it a step further by helping them to develop bodies of work and then preparing them to present their work in a myriad of ways. The intersection of education, art and science is truly where my spirit rests. Also! I’m in the 2023 cohort Teach for America Corps Member and an incoming graduate student at Loyola Marymount University (Go Lions!) working towards a MA in Educational Leadership and a credential to teach science at the secondary level at my current site. Graduation pending 2025! My goals where all of this is concerned is to continue to serve this community in a formal teaching capacity by acting as a sort of the centralized point of resources and opportunities for high school students to reach their highest potential, and to start a photojournalism department here to expose students to the process and different modes of storytelling. Ultimately I want to create and manage a robust visual archive that will serve as a historical mapping tool for my community. 

I’ve never in my life been so willfully overwhelmed, but I’m beyond grateful for all of the opportunities I’ve received that have kept me on track and aligned with my purpose; after reading this if you’ve made it this far, you can probably imagine how devastating it was to my mental health and livelihood (I’m still a freelancer lol) to have been violated in the way of a hot prowl burglary that claimed some of my most prized possessions. As someone who strives hard to be completely self-sufficient (probably to my own detriment), it was really hard for me to decide to ask my community for support in restoring what I’ve lost but here I am. The last thing I want to be is begging on the internet lol but I’ve made it my life’s work to give back to my community through the sharing of knowledge, skills and information so at this time I’m opening myself up to the prayers, words of encouragement, resources, and monetary donations from anyone who feels compelled to reach out. Please please please share for reach!

Thank you for taking the time to read through this and I pray for safety, security, and abundance over your lives in these trying times